Around 140 people could lose their jobs at Boulby potash mine in East Cleveland before Christmas.

The announcement was made this morning by ICL UK, which owns the mine.

ICL UK has began consultation with the trade union Unite on the job losses, which are expected to be made by the end of the year.

The company has also announced it will be increasing production of polysulphate - Boulby is the world’s only producer of the environmentally-friendly fertiliser - and will seek approval from the North York Moors Park Authority to extend its planning permission for a further 40 years.

At the same time, the mining of the limited remaining economically viable reserves of potash will continue at a lower rate until completed and follows a continuing decline in potash prices.

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Peter Smith, executive vice president of Potash of ICL, said: “When we announced the restructuring of the business last November we made it clear that, given the very limited level of economically feasible potash reserves, we had to move our focus to polysulphate production.

“That remains the central element of our strategy to safeguard the business and continuing operations at Boulby, with the business remaining a significant employer in the area.”

On the job losses proposal he added: “No decisions will be finalised until consultation with the trade union has been completed.”

Tim Bush, regional co-ordinating officer for Unite, said: “The company has just advised us of the decision. We will meet the company at the earliest opportunity to discuss it with a view to mitigating the number of redundancies that will be made.”

It the latest blow to hit the mine following three separate serious incidents.

Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland MP Tom Blenkinsop said he is meeting with the HM Mines Inspectorate tomorrow to discuss health and safety issues at Boulby Mine.

The Labour MP is also considering raising health and safety concerns with Parliament, as “the frequency is quite concerning”.

“In a time of economic difficulty and in a post-Brexit world the last thing you want to hear is you’re going through another redundancy process,” he said.

“And having survived that and having to go through it again and you’ve had a death at work and just escaped with your lives, I think there’s a real mental impact on these workers.

“Since the redundancies there’s been a huge difference in working hours with 11.5 hour shifts. This needs looking at as a contributory factor in the health and safety issues.”

Redcar MP Anna Turley, added it is “disappointing news for the local economy”.

Councillor David Walsh, deputy leader for Redcar and Cleveland Council, said it is “extremely sad news” but the authority will “do everything we can to help”.

He said he hoped people affected by the job losses would find “new opportunities” at Teesport renewable energy plant MGT Power or the Sirius Minerals project which will see a new large potash mine in Whitby and a processing facility at Teesport.

Work is due to start on the mine, which could provide jobs for 1,000 local people, next month.